Briefly

WHO

Agency finds no signs of further infections

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that Russian authorities have identified all of the people in contact with a laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia who died of unknown causes. "All of the patients' contacts have reportedly been identified and are being monitored for illness, and none to date have shown symptoms of illness," said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier. The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected reports of a second suspected plague case in Siberia, telling reporters when asked about the accounts that most media reporting on the situation was "false". "The media reports a great deal, and the vast majority of what the media is reporting regarding this situation is false information," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

UNITED STATES

Woman who survived execution 'conscious'

The female inmate who survived a failed execution in a US prison last week is now conscious and speaking, but her prognosis remains unclear, her lawyers said on Tuesday. Christa Pike, 50, who was sentenced to death for a murder she committed when she was 18 years old, received two supposedly lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital at a Tennessee prison a week ago. She survived the injections, however, and was rushed to hospital, where she had been unconscious and on a ventilator in critical condition. Pike's lawyers said on Tuesday that "against all odds" she was now "conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care".

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